Turner Construction Company, the nation’s leading general builder, today announced that the Third Quarter 2008 Turner Building Cost Index, which projects domestic commercial building construction costs, has increased by 1.77 percent over the Second Quarter 2008 and 6.49 percent over the Third Quarter 2007.
Karl F. Almstead, the Turner vice president responsible for the Turner Building Cost Index, said, "Construction costs are escalating at rates higher than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) in large part due to increasing prices for construction material. Price increases for steel, non-ferrous metals, petroleum based products and energy costs for both the manufacturing and transportation of construction materials are driving construction cost increases."
"Wage and benefit adjustments are generally higher than they were a year ago, reflecting the continuing strong demand on the skilled labor workforce. However, increasing trade contractor competition in many market areas is offsetting some of the material and labor increases," stated Almstead.
Turner has prepared the construction cost forecast for more than 80 years.
Used widely by the construction industry and federal and state governments, the building costs and price trends tracked by The Turner Building Cost Index may or may not reflect regional conditions in any given quarter. The Cost Index is determined by several factors considered on a nationwide basis, including labor rates and productivity, material prices and the competitive condition of the marketplace. This index does not necessarily conform to other published indices because others do not generally take all of these factors into account.
